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3-nuTs jMf C 2004 Charlotte C)h«<arvar ftiatehi itArl Kw KniriM QizVter/THh* in* o 2004 Charlotte Observer Distributed by Knight Riddf/Tnbuns I 'rack dominance i By David Poole Knight Ridder Newspapers C.J J f the same cars used the same setups and I raced on the same tires under the same | rules every year, then it'd be tar easier to Wh understand how one driver or one team finds away to dominate at a particular track in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. But no matter how quickly things change in the sport, there are situations in which success seems to be a given. NASCAR has moved through a series of rules changes for restrictor-plate racing since the start of the 2001 season, but nothing has changed Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s dominance at Daytona at Talladega. Ala. K DEl's Chevrolets have won 10 of the past 13 points events at those tracks, including a K victory by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in this year’s Daytona 500. And after Matt Kenseth won 888 Sunday at Las Vegas, it was again ob\ rous to point out that Roush Racing now has U J' won five of seven Cup races M 'sr Fl at^at *-5-miletrack. ■l jj Those tracks are not the |eL onl >' places where it’s easy to find such trends. 89881j3 Kurt Busch, for instance, Busch has won three of the past four at Bristol. Tenn. Jeff Gordon won five times in a seven-race stretch at Darlington. S.C., between 1995 and '9B. Jack Roush-owned Fords won five times in eight races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway begin ning with the fall race in 1998. Tony Stewart’s team cheers his March 2002 victory at Atlanta. He has finished in the top 10 in each of the last five races at the race -U < trßck __ •*»“*. BEAU CABELUKRT J? #il ■ Ji - B •?. ~ aßb B B v .a^ 1— • ■' w< K ... ■» . Jfl t B I Bb ■ - .<■ 1 ■BF ' > TH ATS RACIN’STOP PICKS 1. Matt Kenseth (car No. 17): Did n’t win enough in 'O3 to suit some. Might anger them by winning too often in 'O4. Last week: 2. 2. Jamie McMurray (car No. 42): If he hadn’t got caught up in the Big Wreck at Daytona, he’d have three good finishes already. Last week: 9. r\ n —r —i / —\ r~\ n all makes t models m /A k 0 a/ A N ’"st* -18 Gotgwgmch / «SS<o»p —M ColUston Center The means better. =* 827 Atlanta Hwy. Sanricß Dept Bis ¥£IRI6IHAI ggCSLUSISH M-FS4 BM BAITS SBECIAUST L Sat B-1 ggGMSENICE ggWEWEUSME 77M57-2321 PUS IHSIIAHCE (Hl) mon . DEALER CLAIMS ■ , - - -■ - ■ C ■ - -.. ■ - J For some teams, success is a given on certain racetracks M ■£=? • . , ■ Att l * I rußnr BEAU CABELL/KRT Bobby Labonte celebrates his March 1998 victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he’s won six times in 13 races. > “If you look at different teams throughout the year, there are different tracks that guys are just really good at.” Tony Stewart said. "Differ ent teams that find different packages that work for them really well.” Stewart should know. Joe Gibbs Racing, which fields the No. 20 Chevrolets for Stewart and the No. 18 for Bobby Labonte, has won six times in 13 races since Atlanta Motor Speed- 3. Tony Stewart (car No. 20): Bad l run at Rockingham was apparently an aberration. He’ll be a favorite to win at Atlanta. Last week: 7. 4. Kevin Harvick (car No. 29): When a team gambles on fuel late in a race, missing by five laps is just unac ceptable. Last week: 3. 5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (car No. 8): Las Vegas was a debacle, but it’s done. Now. the test will be how well this team can rebound. Last week: 1. 6. Kasey Kahne (car No. 9): Don’t overlook the team’s role in the rookie driver's remarkable back-to-back second-place finishes. Last week: 10. 7. Kurt Busch (car No. 97): Team needs to find the sharpness it showed in bursts over the past two years. Last week: 5. 8. Ryan Newman (car No. 12): Our preseason No. I pick is 21 st in points after three races. It’s time to get rolling. Last week: 4. . Ir- way, the site of Sunday’s Golden Corral 500, was reshaped into its current 1,54-mile config uration. Labonte has five of those wins and nine top five finishes in those 13 races. Stewart has one victory and goes into this weekend having finished in the top 10 in each of the past five races at the track, with four of those being top-five finishes. Is there a secret ingredient these teams bring to certain tracks? "If there was one, I wouldn’t would tell any body what it is,” Kenseth said about his team’s success at Las Vegas. “But setups, rules, tires, aerodynamics and bodies change so much that there’s not four springs, four shocks and sway bars that we bring back here and run every time. “I don't think there’s one thing that Jack knows that makes his cars all win here. I just think it’s a combination of the teams and all the people he has in place and how hard they work and how good they’re prepared throughout the winter.” One factor that can be overlooked is the dri ver himself. Confidence. Labonte said, is as good of an explanation as any of why he’s won five of the past 13 races at Atlanta. “It has just been a good track for me." he said. “1 go way back to 1982 when I ran here for the first time in a Daytona Dash car. 1 fin ished third in the first Dash race I ever ran. I beat Larry Pearson and Michael Waltrip and the throttle hung wide open. "Maybe that’s what got me over the hump. I don’t know. That’s all I can say. 1 have no idea.” 9. Jimmie Johnson (car No. 48): Pit road scrape-up badly hurt what looked like a really fast race car at Las Vegas. Last week: 8. 10. Jeff Gordon (car No. 24): Like Busch's team, this one seems to be a half-step off of its “A game" so far in 04. Last week: 6., ■n|| For the rest of the top-40 R M rankings, go online and visit J www.thatsracin.com. FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Friday, March 12,2004 - “It’s great to come to Vegas. You don’t always leave here a winner, so this is fun.” *BBr Matt Kenseth, after winning last week's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. GOLDEN CORRAL 500 Where: Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.54- rnile highly banked paved tri-oval located in Hampton, Ga. When: Sunday at 1 p.m. (all times ET). Qualifying is 3 p.m. Friday. j TV: Fox. Radio: Performance Rac- ing Network. Purse: $4.692.401 | . Last year's winner: Bobby Labonte. Iz4v Worth mentioning: Bill El- . nhrtnfo liott leads all active drivers with five poles at Atlanta. Rusty Wallace has three. There have been seven different winners in the past eight Cup races held at Atlanta. Labonte (November 2001 and March 2003) is the only repeat winner. XMItiMWaK THIS WEEK’S QUESTION Second is a good place to finish in Nextel Cup, but when will Kasey Kahne break through for a Nextel Cup win? Cast your vote at: www.thatsracin.com LAST WEEK’S QUESTION NASCAR visits Las Vegas this weekend. Do you think a driver should be able to bet on himself in a race? Number of votes : 5,360 l'~ I i r * r **sMr« u U WINLESS STREAKS Ten drivers who have posted Nextel Cup victories have gone more than 50 races without a win*: Ken Schrader June 2,1991 410 Kyle Petty June 4.1995 258 Jeremy Mayfield June 19.2000 120 EHiott Sadler March 25.2001 105 Rusty Wallace April 29.2001 101 Jeff Burton Oct. 28,2001 79 Sterling Marlin March 17.2002 63 Mark Martin May 26,2002 63 Ricky Rudd June 23,2002 59 Wardßurton July 21,2002 56 * Chart doesn’t include races in which the drivers didn’t compete Jim Utter , VBEm , T3rrrnTm?w , « B NEXTEL CUP POINTS LEADERS The top-40 drivers as of March 7: Rank/Driver Points Rank/Driver Points 1. Kenseth(l7)..s23 21.R.Newman(12)..307 2. Stewart(2o). . . .435 22.D.Jarrett(88)....307 3. E. Sadler (38) 405 23. B. Gaughan (77).. 306 4. J.Gordon(24) ...404 24.J.Sauter(30) . .297 5. KBusch(97) ....400 25 R.Rudd(2l) ....294 6. 26. K.Petty(4s) 278 7.0. Earnhardt Jr. (8). 398 27. G. Biffle (16) 264 8. K.Kahne(9) 385 28.8.Vicker5(25)....255 9. J. McMurray (42) .225 29. R. Craven (32)... 245 10. C.Meara(41)....967 30.K.Lepage(4) ....219 11. 31. J. Burton (99) 218 12. R.Wallace(2) ...356 32.S.Riggs(10) ... 212 13. 347 33.D.C0pe(50) 210 14. J.Mayfield(l9) ..339 34.J.Andretti(1) 205 15. W.8urt0n(22)...335 35.J.Green(43)....204 16.5. (22). .334 36.K.Schrader(49). 192 17. T. Latxxite (5).... 332 37. R. Gordon (31)... 191 18.5. Marlin(4o) ....321 38.M.Waltrip(15)... 170 19.4 Johnson (48)... 320 39. J. Benson (09)... 152 20. M. Martin (6) 316 40. L. Foyt (14) 146 PAGE 5B